FILM; Era of the Silents Makes a Comeback

By BARBARA DELATINER

Published: January 9, 2005

IN almost 125 years, the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall here has been through a lot.

In its early days, it presented concerts, theater, lectures and vaudeville acts. Later, it survived stints as a Chinese restaurant, pool hall, betting parlor and storage space.

Essentially abandoned in the 1970's, the theater was rescued and restored to its stately original appearance in an effort beginning in the 1980's. It reopened in the summer of 2003 and since then, local groups have presented programs on its stage.

Now, with a new series starting on Jan. 16 at 2 p.m., the theater is paying tribute to a lesser known part of its past -- as a movie theater. The series, ''Sundays at the Movie Palace,'' will feature classic silent films accompanied by original, live music and will run on the third Sunday of every month through May. The first film is ''It,'' a 1927 hit starring Clara Bow.

The series was the idea of George Cork Maul, a local composer who is a member of the theater's board, and Michael Edelson, a former film studies and humanities professor at Stony Brook University. The two are also producing the series.

Mr. Maul is writing the music to accompany each film, and will perform it on a synthesizer, along with A. Gabrielle Kastelle on viola.

At the showing of ''It,'' Mr. Edelson will interview Budd Schulberg, whose father, B.P. Schulberg, led Paramount Studios in Hollywood in the 1920's, and discovered Bow.

The Vail-Leavitt, built in 1881 by George Vail, a local lumber dealer, was not intended to be a movie palace, said Mr. Maul, who is researching the theater's history.

Still, in 1885, it presented ''Edison's Electric Parlor Lamp,'' which, Mr. Maul said, may have been an early kind of slide show. In 1908, the theater presented the ''Great Edison Show,'' a silent film about the trial of Harry K. Thaw for the shooting of Stanford White, said Robert Barta, president of the Vail-Leavitt board.

Later in 1908, the theater was sold to the Leavitt family, which presented a mix of entertainment -- vaudeville, lectures and concerts. Silent film was apparently part of the programming, too, Mr. Barta said, more as a ''novelty of the day'' than as a regular feature.

Mr. Maul said that in his research he had found some evidence that silent movies were shown at the theater.

''In the basement I recently found a box of 1920's music sheets,'' he said. ''The music, by a local man, William Tyte, said 'play for comedy,' or 'cowboys and Indians' or 'kissing,' which is how the silents worked, with various themes fitting various scenes.''

In 1914, Thomas A. Edison presented an early demonstration of kinetophone, or ''talking pictures,'' in the theater, Mr. Barta said. But by the time sound took over the film industry, and movie theaters were built, Vail-Leavitt was on its way to decline.

Mr. Maul and Mr. Edelstein said the time was right for the new series because silent films are attracting more attention these days.

''I did this with 'Metropolis' a while ago at Mitchell Park in Greenport and had a standing room only, enthusiastic crowd,'' Mr. Maul said.

Mr. Maul and Mr. Kastelle have been studying the chosen films to get a feel for the music required and have been rehearsing possible themes. But essentially their accompaniment will be impromptu, complete with suitable sound effects.

''I rehearsed 40 times for 'Metropolis' and then ad-libbed it all,'' Mr. Maul said.

The selected films are meant to ''represent the uniqueness of the genres popular during the 1920's,'' said Mr. Edelson, who, like Mr. Maul, lives in Greenport. ''We've assembled a cross section.''

The other films in the series are ''The Thief of Baghdad' (1924), an adventure with Douglas Fairbanks; ''Son of the Sheik'' (1926), a romance with Rudolph Valentino; ''Steamboat Bill Jr.'' (1928), a Buster Keaton comedy; and ''Diary of a Lost Girl'' (1929) , a drama with Louise Brooks.

Each feature has been restored and will be shown with short films and newsreels from Joe Lauro's Historic Films company in Greenport.

The showing of ''It'' includes a Laurel and Hardy film with a young Jean Harlow, and a newsreel of Charles Lindbergh taking off on his historical solo flight, all also from 1927.

It all is supposed to add up, Mr. Edelson said, ''to making audience members feel like they are walking into a time machine.''

The Vail-Leavitt Music Hall is on Peconic Avenue. Information: www.vail-leavitt.org. or (631)727-0900.